Posts tagged “childlike”

In the December of 1997 when I was in grade 5 we all went on holiday to Johannesburg,South Africa to visit my uncle as we have not seen him in years. I remember travelling by train from Cape Town and I remember the songs my brother and sisters and I sang on the train on our way there. It was during this trip that I attempted to also read my first book ever, and of all the books to start off with I just so happened to not start with an easy one, probably also the reason why I never got past page 61. Anyway the book was called “Run Baby Run” – by Nicky Cruz (I think), and it is about a little boy who made a lot of bad decisions in life and ended up as a gangster for years, and how he got saved, and there’s an amazing testimony in there, but like I said I never finished the book, so I never got to the part where he got save. I just read about a lot of running, stabbing, bars, and then the trained pulled into Johannesburg station. It was during that Christmas Holiday period that my mom bought me my first watch – and hey it was a smart watch, with silver and a turn-able ring on the face – wow I remember thinking I have the best watch ever, polishing it every opportunity I got, Making sure that when people were around I would let the sun reflect off the watch into their eyes just so that they can look at my watch and I would be like… oh sorry it is new, look!!!

But little did I know that the watch would only last 2 weeks. You see, on the 6th day of us being there I went to the park with my cousin and somehow I accidentally, without knowing hit my watch against the side wall of the slide whilst coming down on it, but only noticed the cracked glass when I got home.

Upon seeing the cracked glass I immediately went to the room, shut the door, and hid my watch so my mom would not see that I broke it. Upon getting back home in Cape Town, I went into my room, pulled up a chair, and placed my watch between the pages of my Bible and started praying over it. I remember saying “Please Lord, please fix this glass, and heal my watch. Lord I know you Word Heals”. “Please don’t let this stay broken please fix it I know you can”. For about a week I would run home either from school, or from an activity and I would run to my room, close the door, pull up a chair and pulling my bible from my hidden location. I would hold the bible between my palms keeping the bible horizontal, Taking a deep breath, and then opening up my bible with an expectant heart hoping to see the cracked glass healed. Now I know you might be thinking… why would God heal a watch? I now ask the same question, but to me back then… man I believed without a doubt that He will fix it because I knew He did not want me to get a spanking from my ma. Haha, and yes, that was my reason for wanting God to heal it. And if you are thinking that my watch never got healed… you are correct. But I’ll tell you what though, God opened such a door for me that when I approached my ma with the news she just smiled and hugged me. I was like… Um Ok!! You see, without faith it is impossible to please God. I believe that my faith, as silly as it was, touched His heart! He was probable sitting on His throne having a good chuckle as well, but the point of my story is this…

Too many Christians today somewhere forgot that God honors your faith regardless of how you bring it across as long as it is faith! We tend to think as we grow up that spiritual maturity works the same as growing up in the physical – all of a sudden we get so serious and lose our sense of humor because we are mature and we have no place for childlikeness. I disagree. In fact I believe that the closer your walk gets with the Father, the more childlike you’ll become, because to God we are His Children, and He is our Father. The Word says that unless you become like children you will not be able to understand the Kingdom (Matthew 18:3-4: And said, Truly I say to you, unless you repent (change, turn about) and become like little children [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving], you can never enter the kingdom of heaven [at all]. 4Whoever will humble himself therefore and become like this little child [trusting, lowly, loving, forgiving] is greatest in the kingdom of heaven), and unless I am mistaken, the bible was never created or spoken by God to only have the serious and the mature understand it, but He made it understandable to all even children. The Bible is so simply putt, that if you truly grasp the simplicity of it, some might even get offended. God loves us being childlike, spinning, laughing in His Presence, jumping on His lap, sharing some jokes and laying in His arms. We need to let go off childishness, not our child likeness.

At what age did we decide that we are too old to be like children anyway, and why? When did being childlike become childish in our eyes? When did we grow up so fast that we even forgot that no matter our age, we are still CHILDREN of God?

God never intended for us to lose our childlikeness especially our childlike faith in Him. The childlike faith that will take whatever He says as yes and Amen without raising any questions or any “but’s”. Faith that takes His word as a child would take His Daddy’s word not even thinking that His dad is not able. That when God says “tell this mountain to be removed into the sea” we will literally go and try it out?

Let’s take some time this week and allow God to restore some of our childlike-ness, even if you are 80 years old. Lol you are never too old to play with your Daddy.